


Air It Out

by echoflowertea



Series: Open Requests [13]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Female Reader, Reader Is Not Frisk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 16:42:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7809544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoflowertea/pseuds/echoflowertea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You need a temporary place to stay, and Papyrus is more than willing to offer his home up to you. This should be just fine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Air It Out

**Author's Note:**

> **prompt** : May I request a Papyrus/Reader oneshot where you're living with the skelebros and sleeping on the couch but a thunderstorm wakes you up and you go to Papyrus for cuddles and end up confessing feelings and lots of fluff?

“So I’d say that the fumigation should be over in about a week.”

“A week?” You heart sank.

When your apartment’s landlord said he was finally getting rid of the pervasive cockroach problem, you were ecstatic. But the entire building needed to be treated for the pests with highly potent chemicals. You thought maybe the guys would come in, lay down a few traps, and you could live in slightly less fear just knowing that you were safe from the bugs’ shady wrath. Boy, were you wrong. Ugh.

“Yep. After that, no more of ‘em.” The specialist wrote down the date on the back of his business card and handed it off to you. “I think the landlord said somethin’ about reimbursing your stay at a motel once everything checks out.”

You couldn’t afford that on such short notice. Shifts were hard enough to catch as it was, and you’d already paid your rent for this month. Did he expect you to just have cash on hand to spend a week somewhere else? What were you going to do for food?

You trudged to the restaurant, not in good spirits. You guessed you could maybe call up someone for a loan, even though that was pretty embarrassing. You were supposed to take care of yourself, not rely on someone else. Ugh, and all of this because you splurged on a new video game console for your birthday. If you’d just held off on it until later, you could’ve had the cash to find a temporary residence.

Well. Maybe the brothers would be good to you tonight and take pity on your financial situation. You could always pay them back for the free meal that they were probably going to offer.

Sans and Papyrus had been your friends for years. You never thought monsters were real, let alone saw yourself befriending one, but they were so easy to get along with. You admired their energy, their sense of humor, and even their strange and eccentric ways. It was hard not to end up becoming close to the both of them.

You glanced up once they came in. Sans had a hard time climbing up onto the stool, seeing as how it was so high up. But he didn’t need any help and eventually clambered up the side to plop down on the cushioned seat next to you. Papyrus flanked your other side, all proud grins as he stuck his chest out.

“LOOKIE! I GOT PROMOTED TODAY!”

“Oh, wow! Paps, congratulations!”

You reached forward and glanced at the badge he had pinned. Yup, he’d gone from an R5 to an R6. The militia he was a part of enforced vigorous combat training to prepare for isolating threats toward monsterkind, and he was one of their bravest and fiercest members. Whenever he was faced with a human that was making serious notions in harming monsters and causing trouble, Papyrus always managed to step in and defuse the situation. He hadn’t needed to use actual threat of physical harm since he started, and he was constantly called into high-risk missions to ensure that no one was hurt.

You really…liked…that about him. That someone so big and – honestly, intimidating – could be peaceful and gentle. He never held a grudge against anyone. He worked hard for the job despite several close friends telling him he was better off not getting involved, and had changed the organization from being all-means-necessary to violence-is-not-an-option. It was amazing to watch him work.

Papyrus drew back from your touch and turned his head to the side to cough. He’d been doing that a lot lately. Did monsters have allergies against humans that you didn’t know about? It seemed weird he would only do it recently.

“AS CELEBRATION, I AM BUYING THE DRINKS AND FOODSTUFFS TONIGHT! PLEASE, HELP YOURSELF!”

That wasn’t right. “As much as I’d love that, we should be buying you stuff. You’re the one that got promoted, after all.”

“NONSENSE. I WANT TO TREAT MY BROTHER AND MY SECRET C…COOLIO BEST FRIEND!”

You chuckled weakly. “Thanks, Papyrus.”

“yep. no secrets here. kind of obvious to everyone else. but, y’know.” Sans sipped away at his drink and ignored the sudden death stare his brother gave him, his eyesockets bulging comically and his teeth gritted.

“A-ANYWAY. YOU LOOKED VERY DOWN WHEN WE CAME IN. DID YOU LOSE THE BETTING POOL FOR THAT SUPER COOL PLUSHIE YOU WANTED?”

Sans snickered off in the corner. You ignored him. “Nope, still duking it out with otakuprince799. Jerk. Why won’t they just let me have it?” Keep it cool. You had more pressing issues than expanding your collection. “Um. Anyway, it’s nothing too big to worry about. I just…kind of got kicked out of my apartment.”

“WHAT???”

People glanced over at the ruckus he made. He’d jumped up from his seat and grabbed your hands, forcing you to look at him. Someone ‘awww’ed in the background. Greaaat. They thought he was proposing!

You tried to pull your grip from him, but he wasn’t having it. “Y-yeah. They have to do some pest control, so I need to be out of there by tomorrow. It’s pretty crappy. I mean, my landlord will pay for me staying somewhere else, but only through reimbursement. I wish he would just cut me a check so I wouldn’t have to worry.”

Papyrus searched your expression and dropped down to one knee. The other customers’ whispering increased, a few of them giggling and pointing. By now the entire bar was watching in wonder, and it was way too loud with the background chatter and clinking of glasses for them to know what was really going on.

“PLEASE STAY WITH ME.”

“W-what? Papyrus…”

He refused to take no for an answer. You could see the determination in his expression.

“YOU HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO GO, AND I HAVE A SAFE PLACE FOR YOU. I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HAVE YOU SLEEPOVER!!! AND WE COULD HAVE FUN. IT WOULD BE LIKE A PARTY EVERY NIGHT!”

“I don’t want to put you on the spot…”

“kid.” Sans flicked his pupils to you. “hear him out.”

“I KNOW THIS IS SUDDEN, BUT SO IS YOUR PREDICAMENT. NOTHING WOULD MAKE ME HAPPIER.”

You bit your lip. He was so…selfless. And kind. You really had no business turning him down, not when he graciously offered. And seeing that he _was_ just promoted, it wouldn’t be as much of a financial burden on him than you suspected.

“Y…yes. I will.”

The whole section of the bar clapped and cheered. Papyrus didn’t bother releasing your hand as he stood up. He didn’t seem to notice how everyone was applauding his not-proposal, too busy flashing cheesy after cheesy smile at you for agreeing to his request.

The rest of the night went smoothly. You had a couple of drinks, courtesy of Sans, and he kept shooting you knowing looks the entire time Papyrus talked to you. You had a sneaking suspicion that the older of the brothers knew how you…felt about Papyrus, but kept it to himself because he didn’t think it was any of his business to get involved. You were grateful for that, but wished he didn’t find ways to embarrass the both of you when you were together.

“SO, DO YOU HAVE SOMEPLACE TO STAY TONIGHT?”

“Yeah, they’re starting tomorrow afternoon. I’ve got all of my stuff in my car, so I was just going to head back there tonight to make sure all of my valuables are locked up.”

Papyrus hummed. “WELL, I WILL GO WITH YOU. AND THEN WE CAN HEAD BACK TO MY HOUSE!”

“Are you sure?”

“ABSOLUTELY. THERE IS NO SENSE IN WAITING ANOTHER DAY IF YOU ARE READY. I CAN HAVE BLANKETS WASHED AND DRIED FOR YOU BY THE TIME YOU ARE READY FOR BED! UNLESS…YOU WOULD LIKE TO HOLD OFF?”

“No! I would love that!”

“NYEH HEH HEH, GOOD! I’LL MEET YOU THERE, THEN!”

You wondered what you’d done to deserve such an attentive and caring friend.

Sans took off at his own pace, saying he had to go start his shift at his own job as a night security guard for one of the cemeteries. His schtick was to patrol the graveyard at night and scare the shit out of angsting teenagers who thought it was cool to hang around the property. You had to admit, if you were that young and saw a grinning skeleton approach from the mist, you would’ve abandoned all of your bad plans, too.

You parked outside your complex and Papyrus scrambled to escort you. He had no problem in grabbing you hand to lead you up the stairs, considering the streetlights were busted – yet again – and you would’ve been fumbling in darkness otherwise. Most monsters had adjusted well to living in low-light conditions, so he had absolutely no problem in navigating the steps to get you to your floor.

“WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO WAIT OUTSIDE?”

“No, come on in! I think there’s some water and sodas in the fridge, help yourself.”

He did just that. Monsters had to hydrate too, but the liquids were absorbed through magic instead of passing through their systems. You stole off to head to your small box full of various jewelry and coins, grabbing the key from your hiding spot to put it all away.

Somewhere they wouldn’t find it. Or think to look. You hummed and tore open a drawer, stuffing it in along with the other underwear.

“DID YOU DO WHAT YOU NEEDED TO DO?” Papyrus stood next to you, a glass of water in his gloved hand.

“Uh…I think so. Hold on a second.” Wait, no. They were probably creeps and would rifle through there as the first thing they did. You sincerely hoped not, but you needed to do something else. You retrieved the box and hadn’t noticed that something flopped on the ground.

“OH, I WILL GET THAT FOR YOU!”

“Papyrus, no!”

He reached down and snatched it up before you could think.

God. WHY???

He rolled it over in hands. Held it up to the light. Peered through the sheer material, almost as if he was mystified. Stretched it out enough to see the whimsical print on both sides.

“P-Papyrus. Um, can I have that back?” You were going to pass out.

He spluttered. “Y-YES, OF COURSE. SORRY! I DIDN’T MEAN TO…I’M JUST GOING TO…WAIT FOR YOU DOWNSTAIRS!”

He rushed out of the room and you watched him go, the underwear shoved back into your palm. He had been fascinated with it. Why? Maybe it was just because monsters didn’t have to wear underwear? You tucked it away back in its rightful place and shook your head, deciding not to dwell on it any further.

Papyrus sat in his car and had the engine running. By the time you came down, he already loaded all of your essentials in the trunk. That was really sweet of him. You settled in the passenger seat and clicked your seatbelt in. You made a move to place your hand on the middle console to rest there, only to land it on top of his.

Both of you glanced at each other from the corner of your eyes, and you both reluctantly pulled them away.

“S-SO, DO WE NEED ANYTHING BEFORE WE HEAD BACK TO MY HOUSE?”

“I don’t think so.”

The drive was quiet and a little…awkward. You weren’t sure what it was, if you’d said or done something offensive. But Papyrus seemed off. He even drove through a yellow light! Most of the time he expected it to change and started breaking before it did, but today he was so absentminded he just coasted through the intersection.

He grabbed all of your things in one go. It was incredible watching him work as he deposited your luggage in the hall closet. You had a smaller one full of the essentials that you would work from first.

“I SHOULD…GET YOU PILLOWS! AND A BLANKET. I WILL BE RIGHT BACK.” He disappeared around the corner.

In the meantime, before he got back, you supposed you would change into pajamas and wash your face. Get rid of the nighttime rituals. You were over at their house enough that you knew where everything was, and you were sure Papyrus wouldn’t mind.

You locked the door and went to work. Combing out your hair, removing your makeup, tearing your work clothes off. It was so nice and free afterward. You felt refreshed and comfortable. After shutting the bathroom light off, you stepped out and caught sight of Papyrus lingering in the doorway.

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t know you needed to get in here.” You stepped to the side. “Um, you could’ve just knocked.”

“WHAT? I MEAN, YES. I SHOULD HAVE. SILLY ME. BESTIE, I AM GOING TO USE THE FACILITIES. PROBABLY NOT IN THE WAY YOU HAVE, BUT I ALSO REQUIRE…” He gaped at you, jaw opening and closing as he tried to come out with something to say, but couldn’t quite grasp at it. “A-ANYWAY, EXCUSE ME!!!!”

He rushed past you in a flurry, his scarf trailing after him. It got caught in the door when he slammed it behind him.

Hmm. As far as sleepovers went, you had…less awkward ones. This felt wrong, like Papyrus wasn’t comfortable after all. Maybe he’d just extended the invitation to be nice? And he hadn’t realized what it would actually be like having you around? You really hoped that things would smooth out over the next few days.

Papyrus crept out of the bathroom and headed upstairs to bed immediately afterwards. Nothing but a strangled, “GOODNIGHT!” as he darted toward his room. You sat in the living room, with nothing but the TV to keep you company, and settled on the couch miserably.

In the morning, right when you got up and were scrolling through your phone, Sans came through the front door.

“hey.”

“Hi, Sans. How was work?”

“ok.” He put his lunchbox on the table. “where’s my brother?”

“Upstairs, I think.”

He shot you a strange look, eyes trailing toward the hall. “really.”

“Yeah. He might still be sleeping, I didn’t want to wake him up.”

“heh. ok. i’ll go check on him.” Sans scratched at his backside, not caring that he did it right in front of you. You weren’t sure if you should be disgusted or admire his careless attitude. “sit tight. brought home some breakfast.”

Ooh, so that was why you smelled food! You jumped up from the couch and went to peek inside the bags.

As you chomped away at the breakfast burrito, you heard the skeleton brothers talking upstairs. It was hard not to, considering Papyrus’ usual volume was the equivalent of shouting for other people. Their words were muddled, and you didn’t want to eavesdrop, so you purposefully turned the TV up to drown out their voices.

“G-GOOD MORNING!” Papyrus tromped down the stairs and almost tripped over his own two feet. You swallowed hard and made a move to jump up and help him, but he steadied himself and stopped you with a hand up in the air. “I’M FINE, NYEH HEH HEH! SORRY! IT TAKES ME A LITTLE WHILE TO…WAKE UP, THAT IS ALL. I SEE YOU ARE ENJOYING THE FOOD. I WILL BE JOINING YOU IN JUST A MOMENT!”

And he did. He walked over, grabbed the small tin that Sans brought for him, and plopped down on the couch…the one on the complete opposite side of the room.

You furrowed your brows together. Usually he would worm his way to get as close as possible, and there was plenty enough space for you guys to both chill. Maybe he just needed to have a set spot for him to eat?

You ate in silence, save for Sans criticizing the show you put on. Cracking jokes and trying to get you to smile. You wanted to strike up a conversation with Papyrus, but he was so busy avoiding eye contact with you that maybe it wasn’t a good idea.

Oh well.

You went to work not trying to think too much about the night and how it went. Things went by slowly. Alphys had stopped by to visit with you on your break, and you were ecstatic to see her.

“H-How’s it going with Papyrus? Undyne told me h-he was really excited to have you staying with him.”

You shrugged. “It’s…okay, I guess? We’ve probably said like three words to each other since yesterday. When he offered, I thought for sure he would be into it. But now he’s acting like he would rather be anywhere else.”

She squinted at you and reached for her phone. “O-oh really…?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm. W-well, I’ll have to check to see what’s on his mind.”

Eight hours dragged on and on and on. You were in a bad mood when you came home, and the atmosphere inside was tense. Undyne sat on the arm of the couch, grinning at you wickedly.

“Hey, NERD! Papyrus here says you’re gonna be CRASHING here for a whole week!”

You swallowed. Uh oh. Maybe she was going to be the one to break the news because he was too afraid to do it himself. “Um, yeah.”

“NICE!” She jumped to her feet and grabbed you by the shoulders, dragging you underneath her arm so she could bury her knuckles in your scalp. “I’m giving you my BLESSING, OKAY???”

“U-Undyne!” Papyrus protested, trying to separate the two of you. “I-IT’S EMBARRASSING!”

“Nothing to be EMBARRASSED about!” She turned to him with a glint in her eye. “Do you understand me? Don’t go putting WORDS into her mouth when you don’t know how she really FEELS! Right?!” She squeezed tighter.

You swallowed. “Y-yeah.”

“FUFUFUFU. Toldja.” She released you and restrained herself from punching you in the shoulder. “I’ve gotta run. Papyrus, weren’t you going to show her that video game you bought? You know, _the one you’ve been talking about for two months?”_

“Oh, cool! I’d love to play it!”

Papyrus perked up with a cheerful beam. “Y-YOU WOULD? I MEAN, YES, OF COURSE YOU WOULD! LET ME GO GRAB THE CONSOLE!!!”

She took her leave while he carted everything down. Connectors and cables, the box and game case. As soon as he popped it in, you recognized the title music. It was something you both could play, together! Something you’d wanted to get your hands on for ages and specifically bought your brand new console for!

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE PLAYER ONE OR TWO?”

“Two, because you’re always number one.”

“NYEH HEH HEH. THANK YOU.” He blushed hotly. “LET’S DO THIS!!!”

Things went by so smoothly for the next few days. You and Papyrus would unwind after work by popping in the game. Sometimes, it was so addicting that you could go for hours before Sans kicked you off to eat something for dinner. And Papyrus’s fears or insecurities or whatever it was faded away. He was happy to chat with you and go on lengthy rants about little tidbits he’d learned about the series, how he’d poured over the lore and strategically buffed his character for maximum chances of success.

And it was…normal. You didn’t feel that heavy cloud that you had the night that you first came over. Sure, Papyrus never hung out with you after you’d changed, and he always sort of ducked around toward his room so he wouldn’t have to catch sight of you. But maybe that was just how he rolled?

Regardless, you were happy that you guys were on speaking terms. It was so boring otherwise.

You rolled over on the couch and exhaled. You would be out of the house tomorrow, as you’d gotten a call from your landlord that things were just about done. You weren’t looking forward to spending time by yourself any more. Sure, privacy was nice, but you would miss all this time with Papyrus. The both of you sitting around, goofing off, and snacking until you couldn’t eat another bite.

The living room was pitch black. You’d been playing on your phone for hours, but you were bored as hell. It didn’t help that all the good movies were over and it was infomercial city. You sighed and reloaded page after page, only to be met with a stagnant newsfeed. This was awful.

Well. Nothing to do now but sleep.

Zzzzz…

Mm.

Wait.

What?

Outside the window, thunder rolled in the distance. Your eyelids fluttered and you tried hard to focus, the remnants of sleep still draping over your shoulders. After blinking a few times, you realized what it was that was banging outside the house. Long, loud, bursts of thunder. A storm of heavy clouds rushing toward you, ready to unleash a torrent of rain that would last for hours.

No lightning yet, but you were sure it was headed your way.

You picked yourself up from the couch and went to the window, peering out. The trees swayed with the gusting winds, leaves struggling to hang onto their branches as they were whipped back and forth. It was beautiful out there, enough that you had to open the front door and stand on the porch. You were safe from the stinging rain, the harsh patter of it on the asphalt soothing your senses with white noise.

In that moment, when the lightning came close enough to illuminate the street, and the thunder clanged against your senses, you decided to seek Papyrus out.

You weren’t sure what it was. You couldn’t get back to sleep with all that racket outside, especially because the bone-shaped wind chimes they hung outside the front door were whipping and twirling so hard that the sound scraped against your earbuds.

You rubbed at your eyes and lingered outside his door. He was a light enough sleeper, and Sans was out for work, so you figured you should take this chance. To see if he was up; from your knowledge, he actually didn’t sleep very much in the first place.

“Papyrus?” You rapped your knuckles on the door. “Are you up?”

You heard the bed creak inside. “YES.”

“I’m coming in.”

You wrapped your arms around yourself once you were in the room. It was cozy in here. And warm. He was rolled up tightly in his blanket, having been facing the window since the blinds were open.

“IS EVERYTHING OKAY?”

“It’s fine. The rain just woke me up.” You took a step closer. “Um, can I sit with you for a while?”

“OH. O-OF COURSE. ARE YOU…AFRAID OF THE RAIN?”

You chuckled. “Not really, no.”

You plopped yourself on his mattress and tested it with a happy hum. It was so soft! You would kill for something this kind to your back. Papyrus drew the blanket up to his nasal cavity and sighed against the fabric.

“I USED TO BE. WHEN WE FIRST MOVED UP HERE.”

“Really?” You had no idea. “I…guess I can see how that would be scary.”

“YES.” He glanced at you and shifted underneath the covers. “YOU SHOULD JOIN ME IN HERE, IT IS VERY COMFORTABLE. I AM THE PERFECT TEMPERATURE FOR RAINY CUDDLES.”

You had no idea how he would know that, or why he was offering, but you would take it. “Mmkay. Scoot over.”

Oh, _wow_. He wasn’t kidding! Any loss of warmth from the climb up here was greeted with his own heat generating in a neat little cocoon. You found yourself getting even closer, ear pressed up against his ribcage. Papyrus let out a noise of surprise as your head hit his chest, but he made absolutely no move to turn away.

“U-UM. AS I WAS SAYING…STORMS LIKE THIS WERE VERY INTIMIDATING. BUT THEN SANS EXPLAINED THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT AND IT WAS ALL SO BORING THAT I FOUND MYSELF NOT CARING AT ALL.”

You snorted. “Well, it worked, didn’t it?”

“I SUPPOSE…” He trailed off. “SO YOU ARE GOING BACK HOME TOMORROW.”

“…yeah.”

“I CANNOT SAY I AM HAPPY ABOUT IT. HAVING YOU HERE HAS BEEN VERY FUN! I HAD NO ONE TO PLAY GAMES WITH. AND WE GOT TO SEE EACH OTHER EVERY DAY! I WISH OUR WORK SCHEDULES DIDN’T CONFLICT SO MUCH. SO THAT IT WOULDN’T BE SO RARE FOR STUFF LIKE THIS.”

You nodded slowly, listening to his magic thrum all around him. “Mmhmm.”

“NYEH HEH…I ALMOST WISH THAT…YOUR APARTMENT WAS STILL UNDERGOING RENOVATIONS.”

It was a little hard to keep your eyes off him at this point. Between the hypnotic sounds of the rain against the roof, and the scattered beams of light entered the bedroom.

“Maybe we can…make it a weekly thing. I come over and hang out. Just with you.”

“OH, I WOULD LIKE THAT VERY MUCH! BUT…YOU DO NOT HAVE TO. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO.”

“I want to.”

You swallowed hard. It was nice being this close to him, but the atmosphere had tightened again. You could feel the words on your lips. Dangling in your throat. And you couldn’t bring yourself to say them, no matter how sweet he was being to you. What would it take? For you to admit that you…

“Papyrus?”

“YES? WHAT IS IT?”

“Girlfriends…can spend the night whenever they want. And no one can say anything about it.”

He blinked rapidly and beads of sweat started down his temple. “W-WHAT?”

“Lots of couples do this. Sleepovers. Even…in the same bed.” You lifted yourself up so you were on your elbows, gazing at him fully. “I think I would like that a lot more.”

“…” His face started to glow a bright pink, discernable even in the heavy darkness of the room. “G-GIRLFRIEND?”

“I really like you, Papyrus. And I don’t want to go home tomorrow without telling you.”

Slam. Dunk.

You did it! You fucking said it! You felt the adrenaline spike as every nerve in your body became hyperaware of his presence. The texture of his bones on yours, the thinness of your nightgown doing nothing to stop the rapid exchange of heat between you. You knew you were blushing, that this was a huge chance you’d taken, but you didn’t care. Not any more.

“H-HOLD ON A MOMENT. I THINK I MISHEARD YOU. YOU WANT TO…DATE ME?”

“ _Yes._ ” You sat up even more. “I’ve wanted to for…a long time. Months. _Years_. I guess I never…I mean, I never thought you would…but I can’t imagine spending next week without you. Or the next, or the next! This week has been incredible, I’ve never felt like I needed to get away from you. And it’s…hard because you’re my best friend and best friends can ruin friendships if they confess these things when it’s not mutual! So I guess what I’m asking is, is it? Because I don’t want to take this chance and have it go down that route, but if that’s how you feel, I have to respect it and learn to move on!”

You were babbling now. How did this go from a simple confession to your worries and strife? You could feel frustrated tears prick at your eyes from oversharing. He literally didn’t have to know about how you would feel if he didn’t want the same thing from you. You could’ve just left it at the fact that you liked him! What the hell!

Papyrus didn’t seem to mind you running your mouth, because after a while, he brought his hand up to cup your cheek. He sat up so that you were face to face, leaning it just close enough to gaze in your eyes.

“SO YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOU…HAVE ULTIMATE FEELINGS FOR ME.”

“Yes.”

“AND YOU WANT TO DATE.”

“Yes.”

“AND YOU ARE SO OVERWHELMED WITH THIS IDEA THAT YOU HAD TO BREAK AWAY FROM YOUR PLACE DOWNSTAIRS, COME UP, AND TELL ME? EVEN THOUGH I COULD HAVE REJECTED YOU AND WE WOULD HAVE SPENT THE ENTIRE NIGHT AWKWARDLY DANCING AROUND EACH OTHER?”

Err. You hadn’t thought about that. Wow, that would’ve been a really painful breakfast in the morning.

“Y-yes!”

“NYEH HEH HEH. OH MY GOD.” He put his head in his hands and laughed. “I AM TRULY THE LUCKIEST MONSTER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!”

“W-what?”

“ALL THIS TIME I HAVE BEEN ADMIRING YOU!!! I REALIZE THAT MY OWN TACTICS WERE VERY SECRETIVE AND CUNNING, BUT EVERYONE ELSE WAS AWARE AND MADE FUN OF ME FOR IT! WHEN YOU SAID YOU NEEDED SOMEWHERE TO STAY, I WAS EXCITED, BUT THEN I GOT NERVOUS BECAUSE I TOUCHED YOUR UNDEROOS AND THEN YOU DRESSED IN THIS VERY FLATTERING GOWN THAT MADE YOU LOOK LIKE AN ACTUAL WORK OF ART LIKE WE SAW IN THE MUSEUM THAT ONE TIME WE GOT HOTDOGS AND IT WAS SO DIFFICULT TO NOT STARE. AND THEN I THOUGHT WELL MAYBE I CAN DO THIS IF I JUST IGNORE HER BECAUSE OTHERWISE I WILL LITERALLY EXPLODE WITH COMPLIMENTS AND COMPLEX FEELINGS AND SURELY SCARE HER AWAY!”

“So that was why you were ignoring me?”

“YES AND THEN UNDYNE CALLED ME A WEENIE AND SAID YOU WANTED ME TO ACT NORMAL SO I THOUGHT, OH GOD I WAS REALLY BEING OBNOXIOUS AND I DIDN’T WANT TO SEND THE WRONG IDEA. SO I USED YOUR FAVORITE VIDEO GAME AS AN ICEBREAKER.”

“Y-you knew that was my favorite game?”

“YOU MENTIONED LAST YEAR BEFORE IT CAME OUT THAT YOU WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO IT? I BOUGHT THE FIRST COPY AND MEANT TO GIVE IT TO YOU, BUT I WAS TOO NERVOUS THAT YOU WOULD REJECT IT AND SENT MY SOUL SHATTERING INTO A THOUSAND PIECES!” His eyes bugged out. “SO I KEPT IT A SECRET UNTIL I HAD THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW IT TO YOU AND YOU WERE SO CUTE WHILE PLAYING IT, IT WAS EVEN HARDER TO ASK IF YOU WANTED IT!”

This was…a lot to take in. You laughed and so did he, the both of you moving closer than ever. He leaned forward just enough that he could press his forehead on yours.

“I HAVE NOTHING CLEVER TO SAY!!! I WAS GOING TO CRAFT A LONG LETTER THAT I WAS GOING TO READ TO YOU AT A FANCY RESTAURANT ONCE I GOT THE COURAGE TO ASK YOU OUT ON A DATE. BUT THAT WOULD REQUIRE ANOTHER LONG LETTER OF WHY YOU SHOULD EAT WITH ME, AND I HAVE JUST BEEN SO SWAMPED WITH WORK. AND LETTERS ARE HARD TO COMPOSE WHEN YOU ARE EASILY DISTRACTED BY THE SOURCE MATERIAL.”

You kissed him. He froze up midsentence, but melted into you. Angling his head to the right while you went for another one. Then another, and another. It felt like there was enough that it was a shower of them inside, mirroring the weather just beyond the windowpane.

Papyrus reached up to hold you in place. Hands on either side of your cheeks. Laughing between the kisses. He was enamored. He was so into this that it was written all over his face! Flushed and grinning, squeezing you just enough that he knew you were real and not some half-baked dream. He moved from your lips to your nose, then your eyelids, to your forehead and back down.

“Hahaha! That tickles, Paps!”

“GOOD. BECAUSE THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM FEELING IN MY SOUL.” He chuckled and you silenced him with an even deeper smooch, rendering him speechless as your tongue slipped in his mouth.

He let out a moan and let you, too. Not moving an inch or breathing until you pulled away for air. His eyesockets went half-lidded as he brushed a lock of hair that fell into your face out of the way.

“W-WOWIE…YOU ARE…VERY GOOD…”

“That’s because I’ve got inspiration.”

He encased you in his arms. He was hulking and huge, just enough that you knew that if the walls were to fall down, he would shield you from every single droplet that threatened to turn your skin icy cold and wet. He hunched over to bring you into his chest, resting his head on top of yours, squeezing your shoulders and rubbing down your back. You could feel his hands splay along your body and shuddered when he refused to let you go, the both of you so wrapped up in each other that you hadn’t noticed the door open.

“hey bro, you seen my flash…uh…whoa. heh heh heh. oh my god. sorry.”

Sans shut the door and left. Why was he even home?! Didn’t he have work?

Papyrus groaned into your hair. “I FORGOT HE WAS GOING IN LATE TODAY TO COVER FOR SOMEONE ELSE. HOW EMBARRASSING.”

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Boyfriends and girlfriends do this all the time.” You pecked him on the cheekbone. “And he’ll just have to learn how to knock.”

Papyrus went back to keeping you tucked in his lap. Your lips were swollen from the tender kisses that ran down every part of your face, neck and chin. They’d taken away all of the what-ifs and changing them to reality like magic.

You’d have to thank your landlord later.

**Author's Note:**

>  **please comment**! it means so much to me!!!
> 
> want to request a prompt? **[send one in my askbox](http://echoflowertea.tumblr.com/ask)**!
> 
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